Kale salad--celery root, pinenuts, Fiscalini cheese-- at Gather, a new sustainable restaurant in Berkeley, Ca., on Thursday, February 12, 2010.

Kale salad--celery root, pinenuts, Fiscalini cheese-- at Gather, a new sustainable restaurant in Berkeley, Ca., on Thursday, February 12, 2010.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

Berkeley's Gather has diverse dishes, PC flavor

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The young couple at the next table seemed to be getting along - talking, laughing, sharing insights and reveling in each other's company. Once in a while he'd fork a beet or a chunk of mushroom pate from her vegan charcuterie platter ($14), which she ordered with a glass of fruit juice. She never reciprocated by checking out his house-cured meats ($14) or his red wine.

Their diverse eating preferences were handled admirably at Gather, the new political statement - excuse me, restaurant - in Berkeley.

She went on to order the hearty cannellini bean soup with fava leaves ($7) and he zeroed in on the Lucky Dog Ranch burger ($12.50) stacked with Sierra Nevada cheddar cheese and aioli. Both seemed happy; the relationship continued to blossom through the meal.

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In the Bay Area, most restaurants accommodate vegetarians, but few embrace them like Gather. It's in the David Brower Center, which houses a collection of environmental and social-action nonprofits. In many regards the restaurant is so politically correct it feels like a vegetarian restaurant in sheep's clothing.

The center is a nice fit for this 148-seat restaurant owned by Ari Derfel and Eric Fenster of Back to Earth Organic Catering. To head the kitchen, they brought in Sean Baker, whose resume includes four-plus years at Millennium, the innovative San Francisco vegan restaurant. At Gather he's judiciously added meat to the mix while still offering a solid lineup of vegan foods. Just about every item on the menu is initialed with a V for vegan, GF for gluten free or L for locavore.

In the small-plates category, six of the 11 items are vegan or can easily accommodate vegans, ranging from fried mushrooms ($11) cloaked in a batter that tastes almost like chicharrones, served with pickled sunchokes and a citrus aioli, to a baby escarole salad ($9) with Meyer lemon and tahini dressing with bread crumbs and toasted nori.

Out on a limb

Once in a while the menu goes way out on a culinary limb, even for some meat eaters, with items such as goat soup ($7.50) with potatoes and garbanzo beans. I can't think of another restaurant that's used goat in this dish from Mexican home cooking. It's delicious, its gaminess modulated by cumin, cinnamon and other spices. On other nights Baker might offer spicy meatball or duck soup.

The goat belly ends up on a pizza with sheep's milk ricotta, tomato and mint ($15). There's also a pie for vegans, starring chopped olives, herbs and cashew puree standing in for the cheese; and one with potatoes, blue cheese and thyme. Baker and his crew have perfected the crust, which is often better than the toppings; it has a breadlike quality, but can easily be picked up without drooping. Even when piled high, its salty, buttery character comes through.

If you ask, and often even if you don't, you'll learn where your food comes from. The restaurant's bible is a ring binder that details the history of most ingredients in the kitchen. The top of the menu, in fact, kicks off with Gather's credo: "We support local food producers and source all of our ingredients carefully, with an unwavering commitment to choosing only foods that are cultivated safely, justly and sustainably. We love to talk food. Please ask to see our Source Book."

That's not window dressing. Derfel will come over and talk nonstop. On one visit he was having dinner with a friend in the restaurant, but engaged the adjacent tables to talk about the sustainable philosophy. I'm sure he'd also be glad to join you in the bar, which carries only organic liquors.

This type of enthusiasm is contagious, and the passion shows on the plate. Baker, despite cooking without meat for several years, has the carnivore items down pat, especially the long-cooked braises. He nestles chunks of slow-cooked pork ($17) into freshly milled polenta, supported on a pad of beautifully braised and seasoned chard and a sprinkling of toasted bread crumbs. There's also generally a fish dish, such as seared cod ($19) on a bed of Jerusalem artichokes, baby artichokes, mushrooms and green garlic puree.

Baker uses his Millennium tricks on such things as the heirloom bean ragout ($12) where root vegetables are made into "butter," the beans are mixed with Brussels sprouts and scallions, and the whole assortment is topped with grilled bread. It's good, but best for sharing. After five or six bites I wanted to move on to something else.

The kitchen does a better job with vegan charcuterie ($14) than the house-cured meats ($14). The prosciutto looked anemic and the coppa left big pools of grease, but the collection of vegetables was a delight. The nightly changing selection can include Purple Haze carrots sliced over cashew "ricotta" with tarragon lemon puree; roasted baby beets with horseradish almond puree; carnival squash glistening in melted leek "butter"; whole roasted sunchoke; a salad of parsnips, grapefruit, mint and currants; and a bruschetta of porcini pecan pate with grilled red onions. Each item - there are always at least five - is complex and inviting, making the plate a great thing to share.

Fried cardoons

I'd also go back just for the cardoons ($9). On one of the six blackboards that surround the open kitchen, the owners have collected quotes and suggestions for recommended reading. One board calls cardoons the "big brother of artichokes," and describes them as underrated.

Being in Berkeley, and in a kind of anarchist mood, we decided to challenge that assumption and decided that celery was more underrated but probably wouldn't fry as well because of the water content.

Anyway, I digress, which is easy to do at Gather. The deep-fried cardoons, with a crisp coating similar to the one that enhanced the mushrooms, were stacked around an almond pepper sauce, with a pile of grilled scallions.

Desserts, however, aren't nearly as enticing. I loved the thin slice of chocolate cake ($6.50), but the accompanying pecan sorbet was grainy and unpleasant; I guess there's a reason I'd never had a nut sorbet. Chai creme brulee ($7.50) was mostly sweet, and the citrus rice pudding took a backseat to the tangy Meyer lemon frozen yogurt ($7.50).

The sustainable philosophy plays out in the decor of the loft-style restaurant. Two dozen mesh fish baskets with filament bulbs hang from a ceiling cluttered with ducts and pipes. Banquettes on the perimeter and overlooking Oxford Street are covered in recycled leather belts. Sandblasted wine bottles stand in for shades for pendant lights hanging over the thick wood tables.

Pothos vines, which I haven't seen much since the 1960s, sprout from wood boxes above a canopy over the open kitchen and are just beginning to grow down to form a fringe in front.

It all creates an aura that's a little strident, earthy-crunchy and PC chic. It feels as if the Age of Aquarius has finally come to food.

The wine list

SOB is the key to the 17-item wine list at Gather: S for sustainable, O for organic and B for biodynamic.

The all-California selections include two Pinot Noirs, Cep and Copain; two Cabernets, Karmen Estates and Old River; and one of every other varietal. Each wine is either S, O or B; as with the food, the concept can be a little overwhelming. It's nice to have the commitment to these things, and more and more wineries are employing these best practices, but the wine list is barely adequate for the menu. The average mark-up is about three times wholesale, which translates to about double the retail price.

In addition, the spirits selection is confined to brands with a "commitment to sustainability." There are 20 on the list, including Loft organic liqueurs, Paagayo Silver Rum and CapRock Gin. The seven beers include Butte Creek Porter ($4.50) in the bottle and Santa Cruz Mountain Hefeweizen ($5.50) on draft.

If you bring your own wine, corkage is $15. The fee is waived for each bottle purchased from the list.

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